


ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER

by ismellitblue



Category: Batman - Fandom, Black Lightning (Comics), Black Lightning (TV), Under the Red Hood, Young Justice
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Bat Family, Batfamily Feels, Big Brother Jason Todd, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Depression, Disabled Character of Color, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Feels, Gen, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Centric, Jason Todd is also scary but has a heart, Khalil centric, Khalil injured, Major Character Injury, Murder, PTSD, Physical Disability, Tobias Whale is scary, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2019-10-16 00:52:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17539562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ismellitblue/pseuds/ismellitblue
Summary: “She wanted to, if she  hadn’t thrown herself at me-”A heavy kick cut  off the  rest of  the man’s sentence, and Jason followed it  up with a  punch.He  rammed his  knee  into the man’s stomach and  he  went  down like  a  ton  of  bricks-pathetic.He cracked his knuckles,ready to deliver some more  vengeance,when a sob broke through his rage.Looking up,he  was met with a terrified brown eye-the other swollen shut.The  girl  couldn’t  have  been  any older than twelve-and  already Jason could see that the  light  had gone out  of her  eyes.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own anything but the story idea,this applies for all chapters.

“She wanted to, if she  hadn’t thrown herself at me-”A heavy kick cut  off the  rest of  the man’s sentence, and Jason followed it  up with a  punch.He  rammed his  knee  into the man’s stomach and  he  went  down like  a  ton  of  bricks- _pathetic._

He cracked his knuckles,ready to deliver some more  vengeance,when a sob broke through his rage.Looking up,he  was met with a terrified brown eye-the other swollen shut.The  girl  couldn’t  have  been  any older than twelve-and  already Jason could see that the  light  had gone out  of her  eyes.

With one  more kick to  the man, he made his way to the girl,keeping his arms up and walking at a slow pace.She scooted  back  whimpering,  her bloodied arms  wrapping around  her knees.Making sure  to keep the  beaten man  in  sight,Jason knelt down  beside  her,handing her  a tiny raincoat from  beside  them.

He  didn’t try to  cover  her without her permission,instead  keeping  his eyes  focused on  the struggling man, until  he  fell a gentle pull  on  the fabric  and let go.There was  some rustling,and when  it stopped,he looked  at her  from the corner  of his eye.

She was looking  straight ahead.

“This-It wasn’t your  fault you know”Her  breath  hitched at that,and tiny fingers  gripped his hand tightly  before she let  go.

She  stood,and he watched her limp towards  where her attacker  lay, and pick up a  metal pipe.

She was too small,and frail to  do  much  damage,but each time  she  struck,blood splattered, her screams mixing with  that  of  her  attacker, except now they were screams of rage instead of  terror.

Jason let her carry on  for a few minutes,until it looked like she  was really about  to kill him.He grabbed the pipe, and  instead  of  fighting him,she  wrapped  her  thin hands around his torso,…crying freely.

***

Hiding in the  shadows,  he  watched the  paramedics  take  her away, and pretended not  to  see the little wave cast towards  the shadowy  corner,he was hiding in.

Some nights made it hard to remember why Jason cared about Gotham, and that night was definitely one  of them.He walked through the  shadows, going  deep  into the  slums of Gotham.He spent  a few hours in his apartment,but  the stifling atmosphere was too much and  he jumped out the window.His feet taking him to his second home(none  of the  Bats even knew about  the place).

He made it to the sub urban  neighbourhood almost  without incident, and his  house was almost in sight when he  was nearly  run over by a car speeding past.The  vigilante made  to reach for  his gun and shoot  at the tires, but decided against it-it was  probably some stupid teens.

Something moved  in the  shadows where the car had been  and Jason was instantly on high alert.He made his way towards it, his boots not making  a  sound on the gravel.

“ _H-Help  me-somebody-please_ ”

…Oh.

Using his phone,Jason shone  a light and  instantly regretted  it.He’d seen a lot of  messed up things in his  life,but this just took the cake.

The teen was face down,his hands  cuffed, but the thing that truly caught Jason’s attention was his back.There was a huge gaping wound, with the bones of his spine peeking out-and  blood,so much blood.

Looking back to where the car had gone,Jason let out a curse,before  dropping to his knees beside the other man.

“Hey,uh-it’s-it’s okay I’m here”He put  his hand  on  the on the back of his head, trying  to comfort him, but the other man was  too lost in his pain to even notice it.

Looking  back  at his  phone Jason made  to call an  ambulance, but  at the  memory of  the speeding car  he stopped.

Whoever had  done this,had  done it intentionally-and a hospital would make the teen a sitting  duck.He was just about  to swallow his pride  and call Alfred,  when  the other guy began coughing, dark blood  just streaming  out of his mouth.

… _He won’t make it that long_.

The truth in the statement, knocked the breath out of Jason and he  fought to remain focused,pushing aside how  similar the thought had been to his final one when he’d been trying to hold on,just long enough for Bruce to  find him.

His house was only a few meters away though,and he had a mini hospital in there.Enough to  at least keep  the other young man comfortable until  the end-it was more than he’d  had when he died-but it  was  the least he  could do for the stranger.

***

He ran to his house and came back with a stretcher in under  a  minute-and  seeing  that it  was the middle  of the night in the suburbs no one  had come  out.

Putting a  brace on the injured young man, he moved him as gently as he  could, blocking out the whimpers(they were taking him back to a place he’d rather not go),  as he  worked.When the stranger was strapped on,still face down, Jason activated the board, and levitated, making it  easier for him to carry the other to his house.

By the time  they arrived,  the other  was out cold, and Jason guided  him to  the room at the back where his little hospital was. 

Jason,did not have a weak stomach,in fact he’d been pretty sure he was immune  to hurling,but  after cutting off the  teen’s clothes and starting to  work on his  wound Jason had gagged more than once.

After Barb’s injury,he ,like all the other bats had gone  through countless medical  journals, going from page  to page with hopes of being able to help her-like they were solving a case.When Barb had  sat  them all down, and  explained  in a gentle  tone-comforting them,instead  of the other way round…

“ _You have to stop, there was nothing you could do to save me, and there’s nothing  you can do  to change  this-we all have  to move  forward_ ”They’d stopped researching, but all the knowledge had  still stuck with Jason,  and it came  easily  as he went about  trying to clean out  the wound.

What he was doing was probably what the hospital would  have done.He worked for hours, and  when he  was done,he  covered the area with a gauze(the wound  was too wide  to close with sutures-not that it  would  matter in the near future).Still in gloves and a cap, Jason clambered onto the bed next to his ‘patient’s’, exhaustion catching  up with him,making his intent to  stay awake until  the other  passed on, an empty promise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own anything but the story idea and the OCs.Happy reading.

In a way Jen had known taking down Tobias couldn’t have been  that easy(come on,the police actually doing their job?!), and in hindsight she  was certain Khalil  had known as well.

 _“I love you”_ He’d said, and  it  had felt like “ _goodbye_ ”,but  she hadn’t wanted to focus on that.

It had been hours since he’d been kidnapped and there was still no sign of him.She’d tried  to go out and look for him, but her mother,ever  the voice of reason,had stopped  her.

“If you go out in this state,you’re going  to get yourself killed,do you think Khalil would  want that?”That had stopped her in her tracks.

She’d been pacing since then,jumping  whenever the  phone rang,but it was never good news.No one knew anything,and those who definitely did,could not be found.

She heard the screech of a car wheels outside and  ignored the  sound, heading towards  the  door,tired of  feeling cooped  up.She’d barely made it past  the window when it exploded and glass rained down.

The whole thing didn’t  even  last long  enough for her to scream, and when she lowered  her arms and looked  out the window,there was no one there.

“Jen!Are you Okay?”She made to reply in the affirmative  to  her mother’s frantic  calls,but her eyes fell  on something laying amongst the glass.

Metal.

A long piece of  ribbed medal,covered in blood,she reached out  for it her hand  hovering just above it.

“No…No… _No!”_

She didn’t even realize she was screaming until her mother’s arms wrapped around her,pulling  her back.

“Jen ,honey,what’s wrong,were you hit?”

“Khalil!Khalil!Kha-lil!”She recognized the metal,how could  she not,the last time she’s seen it,it  had been a  part  of someone she cared-and now  here it  was,lying still  on the floor.

When her  Dad and sister came home,she and her Mom were on floor, the older woman still holding her tightly,both of them staring in silent horror  at  the bloody implant.

***

“Tobias,why’d you have us go all the way to Gotham,to dump him”Cutter crossed her arms, there was still a bit of fear in her eyes(good,but her annoyance masked it(also good).

“A street is a street,we should have just thrown him in front of the church”Beside her Todd was typing away at his phone,but he was clearly listening in,unlike Cutter, he was already over the spine debacle and was now more interested in his work- _smart boy_.

“Aside from the obvious,do you know why else African slavery was so cruel,Cutter?”She shook her head,and Tobias leaned back in his chair,taking her in.

“Killing a person in their home,is terrible yes, but even as they pass they have the comfort of dying somewhere familiar”

“The slaves who were taken from Africa and forced to live and die in America,did not have the comfort of home”By  now Todd had put his phone away,and Tobias put his hands together,giving them both a smile.

“Now imagine Khalil,spine ripped out,bleeding out and unable to move… _dying_ alone in a place he does not recognize”

“In their final moments,people seek comfort in the things they knew in life.That spineless,thick lipped traitor-if he’s still alive,will have none of that”

***

“And not only does letting him die in a foreign land,serve to break him one last time-It also has another purpose”

“What?”Todd ever curious,was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“The Pierce,household received a little souvenir,from yours truly-a little something to add to the suspense”

“Knowing a loved one is dead brings closure, I gave them just enough to know that something happened to him”

“ _Where he is?How he’s doing_ ,if he’s alive,those are all things they’ll wonder but never know”Leaning forward,Tobias grabbed his remote and turned up the music,letting the jazz flow through him as he closed his eyes.

He heard the others leave, and kept up the façade for a few more moments.Once he was certain they weren’t coming back, he got up.

The chess board he and Khalil had played on was still there, and looking at it,Tobias felt some foreign emotion(the same one he’d felt when Syonide and Tori died),pushing it aside,he grabbed a golden knight from the board and carried it upstairs.

In his bedside drawer,there was a little box,easy to miss at first because it was so unremarkable.In it was a bracelet that had belonged to Tori,the first bullet Syonide killed with(she’d dug it from the target’s head and had presented it to him with a radiant smile), beside those two trinkets,he placed the knight,right on top a handkerchief that had belonged to Joey.

“You were an idiot, but you had heart,…I appreciate that”Flicking his finger,he tipped the knight over,it idled for a bit before falling over,as though refusing to bow,and Tobias almost smiled at how much that reminded him of Khalil’s idiotic stubbornness.

Closing the lid, he put the box away, and got into bed.His mind blanking as he let everything go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the story idea is mine.***Update***I wrote out a character(Sasha)- not because i don't like her-quite the opposite actually, I just struggled with fitting her into the storyline,adding her was ballooning scenes too much.

To be honest, after startling awake,and realizing he’d fallen asleep without meaning to,Jason had fully expected to find himself next to a corpse.But the younger man had actually made it through the night- _this was not good._  
Jason had only taken him in to give him a safe place to die,given the severity of the injury,he should have lasted only an hour or two.For him to have hung on this long, bearing all this pain-it wasn’t right.Pulling his gun out,Jason approached the prone form.The teen didn’t even twitch as Jason placed the muzzle to head.  
All it would take was one quick movement, a simple pull and the poor kid would be out of his misery.At point-blank range,the kid wouldn’t even feel it.  
This was mercy,it was no use prolonging the kid’s suffering…and yet Jason Todd,who had more blood on his hands than most hardened assasins could ever dream of hesitated.  
_He couldn’t do it._  
He’d killed countless times without a second thought,but somehow he couldn’t bring himself to end the already half dead young man before him.  
Lowering his gun,he ran a hand through his hair,messing it up even more.  
He couldn’t kill him, but he also couldn’t just leave him like that,the kid needed more medical attention than Jason could give.In Gotham doctors ,especially those willing to work in shady environments were in abundance(this was not a good thing), most of them were willing to do things to the human body,that made even Jason queasy.  
Checking over the teen one last time, Jason stood, grabbing a hoodie on his way out, he’d just remembered that he had one other option.Whether the kid hung on long enough for that would remain to be seen.  
Either way, he’d have done his best.He left without a backward glance, ignoring the pained whimpers that started up when he was half way across the living room.  
***  
Though the main reason Jason had decided to spend the night out of the slums was because he’d been tired of all the darkness-there’d been another reason,one he didn’t dwell much on.  
It had been the anniversary of the deaths of the Waynes-and try as he might to distance himself from the man,Jason somehow always found himself feeling a bit down on that particular day,despite having not known Bruce’s parents.  
He didn’t particularly like the inherited sadness,but knowing that it had been the day the Waynes died, also meant something else.  
Dr Thompkins was most likely still in town.  
After the falling out she and Bruce’d had,she was banished from Gotham, but since he practically lived in the Burrows,Jason knew she broke that rule once a year.She came quietly to pay her respects and then left before anyone noticed(Jason had been observing this pattern for a few years now).  
Getting into the abandoned house was easy enough, and just as Jason had expected,the good doctor was there,with all her bags packed…she never even felt the pinch that knocked her out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own only the idea.

_Consciousness was a fleeting thing,but whenever it came,Khalil clung to it._

_“…the damage to his spine, from lumbar to thoracic level…”The voice was warm,but professional-it reminded Khalil of Jen’s mom when she was in doctor mode._

_“…His eyes are rolling back-is he supposed to be doing  that?”A male voice asked,the question somehow coming off as threatening._

_“He’s seizing,hold him!...”_

_“He’s awake”A masked face came into view,some of Khalil’s tear drops landing on the man’s dark hair,causing the guy to pull up the hood he was wearing._

_“Hey,shh-shh,it’alright, go back to sleep”A soft hand cupped the back of his head, and Khalil willingly obeyed,forcefully wrenching himself from awareness._

_***_

_“…I’ve never seen a poison like this”_

_“…amazing,whatever’s in it has healing properties”_

_“…it’s also killing him”_

_“-lower his temperature,slow the toxin,…”_

_“…it’s all up to him now”After that,Khalil didn’t hear anymore.His mind far away and his body no longer trying to tether him to a place that only brought pain._

_***_

_In a way,Khalil got used to the people who had him.He’d become aware enough to realize  they were his only visitors,but he was still too out of it to question  this,let  alone be wary of them._

_“…Amazing, scar tissue falling  off…majority of injury healed,only one section left…don’t think the rest will heal…still  a miracle”He was aware more and  more,but he was still  stuck in  that place between wakefulness and sleep._

_“…test for responses,determine level of… ”The blinding pain  that  had  been  following him was mostly  gone,so he  definitely felt  the pin pricks  that move  along his  upper body, and he squirmed trying  to get away,but  his body  was still too sluggish._

_“…do x-ray, and  run more tests…better accuracy,but not likely wrong,…paralysis…will need a  chair?Can you get one?”_

***

They say that when  you go crazy,you don’t know it…but the  thing  was,Jason _knew_ he  was insane.

He heard  things  sometimes, hums echoing off silent  walls, other times it was screaming,but most of the time it was  sobbing,the _pitifu_ l, _endless_   sobs  of  a dying child(he refused to acknowledge who that child was).There were always hints  of green dancing at  the edges of  his  vision, and  sometimes  when he  stared at his hands  too long, he saw bandages holding  decomposing  flesh together.

Point was,he was the last person anyone should let care for another living thing.and yet he’d somehow wound up with an injured teen.And there was no way a kid with injuries like that was lugging around some serious emotional baggage.

At first he thought he could just dump him on Dr Thompkins, but the old badger had disabused him of that notion in the same blow she’d used to tell him that subterfuge was useless.

“I’m old, not senile,I know one of my grandchildren when I see them,take that silly mask off Jason”He’d pulled off the mask with more vigor than necessary, hoping she didn’t see his embarrassed blushing.

“I don’t know how,but whatever this child was poisoned with saved his life.He’s going to make it,but he’ll need a few months to recuperate-but I can’t stay that long”He’d made to protest but she’d silenced him with a look.

“By the looks of his injuries,I take it he’s no longer welcome wherever he was”She’d handed him a piece of paper.

“This is a care home in the outskirts of Metropolis, he can go there when he’s strong enough,just call that number,the people there owe me”

“I don’t know how long he’s going to struggle with his eating, but I’ve made sure that his feeding tubes and his formula are added to all the other things he’ll need-for so long as he needs them, you’ll keep getting supplies”

She’d stayed long enough for the kid, who’d given his name as Khalil to wake up and get settled.

Getting the kid’s real name had not been easy.It had taken after a lot of grilling , and promises that they had no intention of killing him-and even then, he’d only relented after they’d shared their own true names-apparently Jason didn’t look like a Stuart.

***

Even without his detecting skills, it would have taken an idiot not to know that Khalil wasn’t new to the world of paraplegia.At first he’d been too weak to do much, but as soon as he had some strength back he was handling everything himself-without having to be re-taught. Jason had overhead him refusing help with his stool evacuation,stating that he knew what to do(which he obviously did given that he hadn’t had accidents since then),He’d even given them the name of a specific brand of catheters, and had helped with the measurements when they were ordering a chair from him online(it wasn’t as good as a custom chair, but it would do until he moved to the care home).

When the wheelchair had arrived,his transfers had been slow but flawless-the kind of movements that had taken Barb a while to master-so yeah, the guy had definitely done this before.

It wouldn’t take much for Jason to snoop out the kid’s life,but he  didn’t care enough to do so.The guy would be out of his life soon enough, and all the memories of him would be swallowed up by green flames that danced at the edges of Jason’s mind.

The part of him that still cared about things like caution, and safety growled at him,trying to get him to pay attention.Jason _hated_ that part with all his might.It sounded like Bruce-had it taken the low threatening tones of Batman,he’d have been able to bear it, but the softer more earnest voice of Bruce Wayne made his _heart hurt_.To silence it, he took out his tequila,drinking straight from the bottle.

On his way upstairs he caught sight of a pair of worried brown eyes.

“ _What?”_ The question came out more threatening than he intended, but he didn’t really care.

“Nothing,”The reply was soft, like the kid actually cared, and that made Jason even angrier, he took another swig, stomping up the stairs without looking back.

He wound up on his bed, shoes still on, gun in one hand and a bottle in the other.Sleep didn’t come easy, and when it did, it came in shades of green and hyena laughs… _the lullaby of the damned._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As stated in the last chapter,I've written out a character.Not because i didn't like her or anything, she was just making the storyline clunky and i tried to rewrite her many times but it just wasn't working.Hope you guys enjoyed this update.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own only the story idea.

Jason wolfed down his dinner, taking time to enjoy the pasta-for someone who didn’t really eat,Khalil was  a surprisingly good cook-even the sauce was perfect.

“I’m just earning my keep,”Had been the explanation Jason had gotten the first time he’d come downstairs after a rough night, to find an actual breakfast waiting for him.

They didn’t talk much-but Jason’d found he didn’t mind the other’s presence-at least at first.Now he wasn’t so sure.

The kid stared- _a lot_ , and whenever Jason caught him looking, he pretended to be busy with something else.In fact,Khalil was staring right at that moment, Jason could _feel it._ He lifted his head from the plate, and as expected,the kid was now busy with pushing formula through his feeding tube, his eyes fixed on the syringe.

“Alright spill,you’ve been staring at me for days now, it’s annoying and more than a little creepy,”Wide brown eyes met his and the kid wheeled himself back from the table,nearly spilling formula everywhere before he stopped himself.

Unfazed Jason fixed him with a steady gaze,his respect for the other went up a few notches when he saw him regroup, the fear sliding behind a cold mask as he straightened his shoulders.He opened his mouth to answer but before he could,Jason’s phone buzzed,going at the frequency he’d reserved for emergencies.

He stood immediately and made his way upstairs,interrogating Khalil could wait.

He left the house a few minutes later, ignoring the sounds of  Khalil moving about in the kitchen.No one paid attention to the young man walking the streets with his backpack over his shoulder and phone in his hand.

***

Jason arrived at the scene before the cops did(the one thing they never disappointed in).

Dark smoke billowed from an abandoned car, and amongst the smell of burning metal and rubber- there was a stench of burnt meat.He threw a fire extinguisher ball at the vehicle, and moved in the moment it killed the fire-wrenching the van doors open-and taking a step back at the sight that greeted him.

He could make out vaguely humanoid clumps, held together by a still red hot chain.Pulling out his battered scanner(he’d nicked it from Nightwing a few months back, and it looked like he’d be needing to steal another one soon), he pointed it at the corpses.

It beeped softly once its analysis was done and Jason let out a curse at the results.

Females,aged 4 to 9,they’d been tortured and mutilated so badly before being killed,that the machine couldn’t even give a rough estimate of the exact time of death.

Steeling himself, Jason palmed the flask in his pocket(he’d definitely need a refill before the night was over).He climbed into the van,his helmet already recording everything, as he prepared to take some samples(hopefully the killer had been careless).He caught sight of something glinting amongst the corpses, and crouched to examine it, his mind barely registering exactly what he was seeing before his  body was on the move.

By the time the bomb went off, he’d already found cover behind a dumpster, his reinforced jacket protecting him from the heat.

***

Hindsight, for all its 20/20 vision, was completely _useless_.

The thought crossed Jason’s mind more than once as he ran, by focusing on girls, he’d walked right into an ambush-and whoever it was-they’d come prepared.One of his assailants,threw himself on his back, hands coming around his throat, and Jason dislodged the masked man by running a knife through his side.

Bullets rained down on him, not making it through his jacket, but still stinging in a way that he knew meant there’d be bruises.He ducked into a deserted apartment building, jumping over crackheads scoring hits.The sounds of dozens of people running made it through the thin walls, and Jason burrowed deeper into the shadows,more than thankful that the helmet filtered out the smell of the urine he could see lining the walls.

The movements of his pursuers slowed, but Jason knew better than to let his guard down- the addicts were probably selling him out in that very moment-he needed to move.No sooner had he stepped out of his hiding spot, he ran into a masked woman.He moved faster than she could react,snapping her neck and catching her body-easing the gun out of her limp hands as he lowered her to the floor (his had run out of bullets while he’d still been behind the dumpster).

***

The moment Jason had jumped out of the apartment building, snipers had crawled out of the woodwork , and soon enough even the goons he’d left in the building had once again been on him.To make matters worse, a news crew was there, following his progress from above-the idiots flying low enough that stray bullets sparked off their helicopter-but all they cared about was getting a scoop.

They followed him as he jumped from building to building, shining a spotlight on him that painted a huge red X on his back.Had it not been likely to cost him a digit, he’d have flipped them the bird.Instead, he fired his last round, catching a few knees, and cutting down the numbers chasing him.He looked around as he ran,weighing his options, his best bet was to get to the subway(being underground would get rid of the reporters, and moving through the tunnels would make it easier for him to lose the rats chasing him).He focused all his energy on that, ignoring the now almost unbearable ache on his back and ribs, and he ran over car roofs, pumping more energy into his aching limbs, the sight of his intended destination giving him a boost.

***

He was almost at the stairs when his helmet crackled, a small screen bursting to life as a connection was established.

 _‘What on earth!’_ Barb no longer had the frequency he used, he’d blocked her and the other Bats since the one and only time they’d managed to reach him through the helmet.When the transmission finally stabilized, the face staring at Jason wasn’t one of the Bats,but it was still very familiar.

“… _Khalil!”_ The kid began to say something, but the connection fizzled off a bit when Jason, jumped over one more car before landing on the street, he was almost at the stairs(and with any luck, his pursuers would be stalled until traffic stopped).

The connection came back on just as he was about to enter the stairs, and Khalil’s panicked face came into view.

“ _Stop—don’t—no subway-you’re being herded,”_ Jason didn’t pause,but he did slow a bit, _considering_.Nothing about the chase had felt like he was being led anywhere,and he had no reason to trust Khalil,quite the opposite actually,seeing that the kid had just proven to know more than he’d let on.The stairs were now within arm’s reach, and beneath the bodies of Gotham’s never ending traffic, he could see his pursuers’ feet-in a moment they’d be able to cross the road…should he trust the kid?

***

 _The more things change the more they stay the same_.

The saying had echoed in Khalil’s head the moment he’d realized that he was still alive. The venom he’d hated so much had healed the injury Tobias had inflicted,making sure that even though he could no longer walk again,his injury level hadn’t gone higher-he was still at T12 complete.He was alive-no longer able to eat more than a few mouthfuls without getting incredibly sick(once again thanks to the venom),but alive was alive.

He’d started teaching himself,eager to catch up the things he’d missed and to keep his mind off the constant ache that came with not only missing his loved ones.But knowing that if wanted them to keep living,he’d have to stay away from them for the rest of his life-holed up in a care home.

The urge to let his emotional hurt congeal and manifest into something bitter had been strong,but he’d resisted,remembering how that’d left him open to Tobias’ manipulations the first time around.So he’d kept on studying,moving on to complex things,getting into programming ,circuit design, and poisons(though he only had theoretical concepts), and adding more subjects as time progressed.

That should’ve been enough, and for a while it had been.Then in between his breaks from studying and trying to get his body in better shape, he’d begun observing Jason, and that was the start of his problems.

***

Just like with the Pierces he’d made the connection between his savior and the vigilante Red Hood, pretty quickly(it was hard not to, seeing that they both wore the same  rare pair of boots, and had the same build, plus Red Hood sightings always happened whenever Jason had ‘ _gone out’_ )

***

Back in Freeland, the 100 used to tell stories about him to scare the newbies.At first Khalil had thought it was all just exaggerated, then he’d had a ‘movie night’ with Tobias.He’d sat on an expensive leather couch,watching footage of the Red Hood butchering drug dealers in one of the older man’s Gotham warehouses.

“You see Khalil, _that_ is a man not afraid to get  his hands dirty,”

“We walk on different sides of the streets, but I can still appreciate his talent,”

It was hard to believe that the ruthless vigilante,Red Hood, and Jason, who wasn’t fully awake until he had at least a cup of coffee in him, and who looked like he’d been surviving on  beer and whiskey, before Khalil came along were the same person.

But all the fact were there, and Khalil hadn’t been able to dispute them.

For a brief moment he’d actually considered going against Jason.

He had a first name and a hero persona.A last name wouldn’t have been hard to find.And with a last name would come the other’s history, he could’ve stored the information away, threatened Jason with it, _he could’ve_ -

Even as the plan had come together Khalil  had known he wouldn’t be able to go through with it.

Though Jason posed a threat,he had _saved_ him, and the other _obviously_ didn’t know who he was.All he had to do was lay low until he could get to the care home.

It had been hard keeping the revelation to himself, but he’d stayed tight lipped, and he would’ve continued to do so, but then he saw Red Hood on the news.At first it had seemed like he was outrunning some henchmen, then Khalil had noticed the way the chasers,despite their apparent chaos had been careful to make sure Red Hood only moved in one particular direction.

***

It hadn’t even occurred to him,to let the other fall into whatever trap was coming.He’d hacked the helmet’s connection(putting the things he’d been learning into practice),and had sent out a warning.

The news crew had lost sight of Red Hood after that.That had been hours ago, and there was still no sign of Jason.Khalil’s back ached,he wanted so badly to just lie down with a hot water bottle, but he settled for transferring to the sofa and placing the bottle behind him-it helped take the edge off.

He was beginning to wonder if Jason had ignored his advice and gone into subway,when he felt a shift behind him, before he could even turn his head, he felt cold steel at the back of his neck.

“I’m going to sit, and you and I are going to have a long chat,”

“By the end of it, you’ll make sure to have told me exactly _who you are,”_

Jason’s usual calm tone, was replaced by something dark and grating, and had Khalil not spent months under Tobias’ thumb,he’d have been too terrified to form coherent sentences, but all he did was nod.

The gun left the back of his head, and Jason took the seat across from him,he was covered in bruises and blood, and was obviously very tired, but the look in his eyes was anything but dull.Seeing no way around it,Khalil took a deep breath,readjusting the bottle on his back, they were going to be there a while.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing but the story idea.

What was _failure?_

If you asked Batman he’d say there was no such thing, there were only lessons obtained from not winning.If you asked Bruce Wayne the answer would be completely different-failure was being unable to protect a child and having to bury them…but Bruce Wayne wasn’t there-there was only Batman staring down  his former Robin.

_“Let him go,”_ In response Red Hood shrugged, the gesture looking casual, but Batman knew better-he’d taught the boy that move afterall.

Proffesor Pyg flailed a bit, going still once again when a gun was pressed to the back of his head.

At his side Nightwing tensed,ready to move in, but he calmed himself enough to wait for an opening.Between the four of them,lay a baby, or what used to be a baby.The dollotron procedure was half way complete-the doll mask in place-the victim of Pyg’s latest escape from Arkham had clearly died during the experimentation-but by the looks of things, Pyg had only stopped at Red Hood’s intervention.

It was a gruesome sight(half of the little skull was caved in-brain matter oozing out), but that still didn’t make killing  the man right-something the other clearly intended to do.

“If you want his so bad, come and get him,”Red Hood’s stance shifted,all the faux-casualness going out of him, the rage that was always simmering beneath the surface coming out full force.

A solid hit to the back of the head drew blood, and sent Pyg flying, leaving just Batman and his former-protégés standing.

***

The fight, just like its  predecessors- _was brutal_.

Bullets bounced off their armour,and each time Red Hood’s limbs landed a hit, Batman knew that even with his protective clothing-he’d be feeling it for days to come,but he gave as good as he got.

The three of them, through a silent agreement fought far from the tiny body,with Pyg’s unconscious form laying a few feet from them.The mad professor however was free game-to Red Hood at least-the other had stepped on him more than once during their fight.

Batman blocked a sharp dagger, a kick from Nightwing saving him from having to wrestle it from Red Hood.They continued on like that for a few minutes, dodging, kicking and punching, none of them managing to get the upper hand.Bruce could almost taste the rage whenever Jason moved,it was there in the way he kicked, the slashes he made, and most of all it was in the glares Bruce could feel even though all of them were wearing masks.

Had he really failed the child so badly?

They ended up in a standoff, Red Hood’s blade on Nightwing’s throat,his gun on Batman’s temple,while the two of them each had a sai and batarang aimed at him.

A tray cluttered, and all three of them turned towards the noise-Pyg was up ,and trying to make a run for it on unsteady legs. Jason broke the stalemate with a complicated twist,his gun aimed at the retreating villain’s back.

Moving quickly Bruce threw himself in front of the gun,his cape deflecting the bullets.Nightwing kicked Red Hood’s legs, and Batman delivered a blow to the head as he fell…he was out cold before he hit the ground.

***

The drive to Arkham was quiet, and the Batmobile cut through traffic easily enough.

With Red Hood tied up in the back and Nightwing keeping watch,the Dark Knight should have been more at ease-but something was off.

The closer they got to Arkham the more on edge he got, but a scan sent by Oracle earlier had proven that the coast was clear.There was no one suspicious hanging around the asylum.

“Are you alright, Batman?”He’d answered in the affirmative, but he knew she could tell he was lying,encounters with Red Hood ,always left him feeling like he’d been  scraped raw, his eyes stinging with tears from long ago.

The Batmobile purred as it came to a stop in front of the forbidding building.A few orderlies and a doctor were already waiting for them.Nightwing nudged Red Hood out, with the other throwing back his shoulder in an attempt to get Nightwing’s hand off him, but Dick maintained his hold.

Two deliberate blinks beneath his mask allowed Oracle to see what he was seeing, and she quickly ran a background check on the staff they were walking  towards-declaring all of them to be legit.

“…worked in various war zones all over the world, served with-”A mosquito stung his cheek, and the Dark Knight stumbled, his hand automatically going to his face, his hand came back holding something that was most certainly not a mosquito.

A dart?!

In his ear, Oracle was speaking frantically, he tried to answer her but a dull thud from behind had him turning(why was he so slow?).He was met with the sight of Nightwing laying on the pavement.The foot he lifted to try and reach him tripped on thin air and he joined the other hero on the ground.

In his ear, Oracle’s worried voice cut off abruptly-and when sound resumed-the only thing the vigilante could hear was an endless stream of static.With his body wading through molasses, he turned at the sound of footsteps, being unable to do anything but watch as Red Hood disappeared into the night.

***

Barb had been moving around the Batcave, her eyes fixed on the computer screens as she kept an eye out for anything suspicious.When Dick had informed her that they’d found Jason,she’d immediately told Alfred-whether or not they managed to apprehend him, they’d be needing some comfort by the time the night was over-and the old man’s brownies always did the trick.Encounters with Jason always left everyone needing a bit of  Alfred’s comfort, that was the norm, even if they didn’t acknowledge it.What wasn’t the  norm-was somebody trying to hack into her systems.

She instantly switched her focus, wheeling herself to the main computer.There’d been a few attempts on the Bat-system over the years, and she’d gotten quite adept at kicking them out.The redhead vaguely wondered if it was Luthor trying his luck again as she worked, keeping an eye on the screen showing Bruce and Dick about to drop off Jason.The attack was banished quickly enough, though whoever it was, was smart enough that she couldn’t trace them-definitely worth looking into later.

She turned her attention back to the drop off,giving Bruce the information he needed.Just when she was about to turn her attention to one of their other cases,Dick stumbled and went down like a ton of bricks, with Bruce following soon after.The Bat system let out a wail, signaling another attack.She moved back to the main controls,recognizing the foreign code as the one she’d just recently wiped out.Her fingers flew over the keyboard, trying and failing to oust the intruder once again.

The initial attack had been a scouting venture, she realized as she tried and failed to pin down the snake-like virus coiling around her programming.Breathing through her panic, she came up with a game plan-no one had ever hacked the Bat system before and she was going to keep it that way.

She rolled her shoulders, boxing in and isolating the snake-code to one particular section.She closed her virtual fist around it, intent on snuffing it out, but the virus regrouped pushing against her hold, it twisted and rearranged,slipping right through her defenses.A strange blue pulse went through her system, and just like that everything went still-she could no longer access anything, nor could she talk to Batman and Nightwing.The panic she’d been suppressing bubbled up full force, and she did what all of them did when faced with a situation they couldn’t  handle.

“Alfred! _Alfred!”_ She gripped her arm rest to keep from hitting the unresponsive machine.

_“_ We’re under attack!”

Never let it be said that Agent A wasn’t prepared for any situation.He made it to the Batcave in a matter of seconds, and within moments he was organizing everything using the landline.Sending out back up to collect Dick and Bruce, and having the others be on the lookout for Jason.At his side Barb worked furiously trying her best to get the system running again-whoever’d dared touch her baby was going to pay- _they were going to pay big time._

***

From his hotel room Khalil rolled away from the window, taking his sniper rifle with him.He took it apart with practiced ease, watching as the bars on his laptop screen filled, slowly siphoning information directly from Oracle.When it was done he didn’t waste time, he quickly transferred the files to a memory card and spilled water all over the pc-killing it instantly.

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the window-despite being twenty stories up.

Khalil let Jason in, handing him the bag with the gun, and the memory card without saying a word.With only a nod,Jason was out the window, and Khalil moved around the room, destroying any evidence that might have been left behind.

An hour after Jason left,the police came , they took one look at his wheelchair, did a quick search of the room, and didn’t ask anything else(the rookies couldn’t even meet his gaze, so he knew there was no way they’d be identifying him even if they suspected anything).

It was one of the things Khalil had always hated about being wheelchair dependent, but he was learning to use the negatives to his advantage.Something Jason had impressed upon him when the other had gone through Khalil’s past,bringing his skeletons to the light, and deeming him too useful to be allowed to fade away in a care home.

“A former-sidekick and a former-henchman, I think you and I would make a good team,”

Rolling over to the ruined laptop,he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.He’d just hacked _the Batman_ ,he’d gotten information that could save countless lives.But the person looking back at him, didn’t look happy or excited, he just looked _tired,so-so tired_ , and Khalil couldn’t even find it in himself to even force a smile.

_When had he become so numb_?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own only the idea.

Mere hours after a successful heist on the Bat clan, doing so didn’t seem like it had been a good idea.In fact it might have been the worst scheme in the history of  hair brained schemes.In the months they’d known each other,they’d worked on several jobs together-establishing a level of understanding(neither of them were stupid enough to believe in things like trust), they’d only attacked Batman when they were sure of each other.On that end they hadn’t failed,which was why Jason still couldn’t understand why they’d failed to plan for their success.

The only light in the dingy warehouse let out an annoying unending buzz, but the two occupants of the formerly abandoned building didn’t mind.They’d barely made it out of the surburbs-torching the  place because the descending Bats hadn’t given them time to clean it out.They only made it out with a few essentials(Jason’s weapons), and Khalil’s supplies.

“Well, this has been a disaster,”Jason sent a glare at Khalil,not even caring that the other was more focused on flushing his tube than on him.

Using Batman’s resources had seemed like a good idea at the time.

They’d gotten the information on their guy a villain named Black Mask, he’d  been the craziest Gotham had to offer before Joker had taken the title of Clown Prince of Crime.Unfortunately,they’d also unwittingly brought the whole Bat clan down on their heads.

“What exactly did you do?This manhunt is too large for a few stolen files,”He finally asked,putting salve on his bruises-he’d encountered Demon-spawn when he’d been buying Khalil time, and had been forced to take a few hits in order to escape before Red Robin and Spoiler caught up.

“I froze the system, took what we needed and got out,”Was the answer, and Khalil went back to his feed.Seemingly unaware enormity of the task he’d accomplished.There’d been few who’d managed to hack the Bat computer in the past, but they’d always been swiftly dealt with, one did not simply waltz in, and _freeze_ the Bat systems, at most Jason had been hoping Khalil would get a general idea of what they were looking for , before Barb kicked him out.

But he’d _frozen_ the Oracle’s baby.

That took considerable skill, and whoever could do that and get away with it,…was obviously a threat.

There was absolutely no way, Khalil(even if they didn’t know it was him) was ever being knocked down the priority list.Oracle was the heart of the Bat’s operations, if she was under threat-all of them were in danger.

But on the bright side,it seemed Jason had found himself one heck of hacker.

***

After two days of each other’s constant company-Jason was struggling to see the point of having a good hacker if he couldn’t utilize the information gathered.He’d only ventured out once after his initial encounter with Robin, and the instant he’d stepped out on the street-all the cameras had turned on him like piranhas scenting blood-clearly Barb was angry.Soon after Red Robin had engaged him,his replacement was competent Jason would give him that.

The encounter had only ended because Black Mask’s men had attacked, and Jason’d used them as a distraction, even then he’d still fled with half a batarang sticking from his side.

He’d woken up on the warehouse floor,with Khalil seated next to him,patching him up.Whatever Khalil had used to numb the pain had been phenomenal, and Jason’d passed out again soon after.

***

 Day five of their unplanned isolation,found Jason looking down a bottle of whiskey.And as always when he was just the right amount of tipsy, Jason found himself being philosophical.

Through observation,he’d found that he and Khalil were a  good fit.And the reason for that was pretty obvious.

Both of them were broken.

When Jason had shattered-with the Joker’s crowbar grinding him to dust and the lazarus pit setting his ashes on fire- _he’d burned_.For Khalil when he’d shattered-spine ripped out of his back- _he’d gone cold_.

Whereas Jason was trigger happy and ready for a fight, Khalil didn’t react to much at all.He assessed things with a nonchalance that only  true trauma could bring, he’d been pushed to the absolute limit and his emotions had just shut down.

All this came to Jason somewhere halfway into his second bottle of whiskey-as he avoided Khalil’s disapproving gaze.

What good would being sober do?

Some sadistic nutjob was out there torturing and killing kids for fun, and Jason couldn’t hunt him down without drawing the attention of the Bats. Tires squeaked against the concrete floor as Khalil made his way to Jason’s bunk and the other cleared his throat to get his attention.

“I have a plan that might just get Batman off your back,”The whiskey bottle shattered.

***

Sometimes the simplest plan was the most effective.

Since the ‘ _incident_ ’ Jason had been evading the Bats, he hadn’t actually talked to any of them during their skirmishes… a fact that was crucial for their plan to work.

The moment he stepped out into Gotham’s chilly night, the latest Robin-Demon spawn, was on him, and instead of engaging with intent to run, Red Hood fought with the intent to draw out the fight.

And as was the case with all drawn out fights, they began talking as the fight progressed.

“Not that I’m not flattered with all the attention, but don’t you guys have better things to do than chase me?”A staff swung his way-the force of it nearly taking off his helmet.

“Enough you peasant!”Red Hood jumped to avoid the staff,landing on an old railing, and quickly leaping off to avoid a swooping kick.

“I don’t know how you managed to bypass Oracle’s security, but rest assured, you will not be getting the chance to do so again,”A knife scraped across the red helmet, and Jason found himself wondering just how many assassin tendencies Damian still had left-he was always so adorable when he was going for the kill.

“The Oracle got hacked?!Getting sloppy huh?”There was no need to feign shock, he still hadn’t gotten over his initial surprise at finding out exactly how successful Khalil had been.

Robin’s assault seized and he regarded Jason carefully-contemplating, not so sure of his facts anymore.

_Bingo!_

“ _A lie told to the right person, at the right time can be very powerful_ ,”Khalil’d said as he’d explained his plan(the catch in his voice had told Jason that at some point the other’d been on the receiving end of such a lie).

He didn’t wait for the latest boy-wonder to finish piecing things together.Instead he threw a smoke bomb and took off running.Damian would be sure to pass on the news to the others when they returned from handling the mini-incidents he and Khalil had set off around the city,to allow Jason to run into Damian specifically.The kid, as knowledgeable as he was, wasn’t as good at reading Jason as the others were, and would be the easiest to lie to.

***

“…Todd knew nothing of the cyber attack,”

“He was just an opportunist, who took advantage of the situation,”Damian folded his arms as he spoke, his glare becoming more pronounced(somehow he was taking the breach harder than all of them-even Barb,which should’ve been impossible).

“But what about the person who shot us?They had to have been helping him,”Dick added, grabbing one of Alfred’s chocolate-chip cookies.

They’d been at the issue for hours, replaying the feed of Jason hearing about the attack repeatedly.

He definitely wasn’t faking his shock.

But with Jason ruled out as a suspect,things got more complicated for them.And they still had no leads on who’d shot them.Both the darts and the neurotoxin had been homemade.The materials for the darts and the ingredients for the poison being common items that almost every household had.

“It seems we have a new threat in town.Everyone, keep an ear out, if they started big, we can be sure we’ll hear from them again.The next time they come- _we’ll be ready_ ,”There was a quiet confidence in Bruce’s words that all of them clung to.They scattered to carry out their respective duties,the sooner they dealt with the latest threat,the better.


	8. Chapter 8

When Joker had come for him,robbing him blind and killing the woman he loved,all Black Mask had wanted to do was burn Gotham to the ground,using the clown’s blood to feed the flames.But cold hard logic had won over, and he’d controlled himself.

As time had passed and his rage had gone from raging hot to ice-cold,he’d found that the Joker-even though he was unaware of it-had his uses.Since the clown’s rise,Black Mask had gone underground, slipping into the cracks of Gotham-nurturing his empire,while the Joker, kept the Bat off his trail.

For a while,that had been enough for him.Then his workers had started turning up dead,lowering profit,and he’d gone out of his way to find the culprit.His search had ended in him watching a noir play brought to life.

There was no way words could properly describe the experience of seeing Red Hood in action.Black Mask had met many killers in his time, but _never_ had he met someone who killed in a way that made him _envious._

And for the first time in decades, he’d looked at something and thought- _I want that_.

But before he could acquire him,he needed to court him first.Sending him prey to hunt down, and watching the other master at work.It had taken unimaginable patience on his part to wait for the other to realize what was going on, but at last his labor was bearing fruit.

“Sir,he’s in the elevator, and he’s headed right down here,”Black Mask calmly poured his wine, pretending like he hadn’t heard the shaking voice(it was good that his lackies feared their future general).On cue the doors to the underground office opened and the body of his- _former_ head of  security tumbled out.

His guest stepped out of the elevator,his gait slow and measured, but there was a cockiness to it.He unfurled his balled fist,and actually mimed throwing something onto the desk.

“Here’s your nose, I found it in my business,”Red Hood had a personality too-how _wonderful_.

***

Black Mask,as his name suggested, was wearing a skull shaped black mask that somehow it didn’t clash with his pristine white suit.

There was an air of calm indifference about him, and where villains like Penguin and the Joker unsettled you on sight, if you didn’t pay attention to the mask,everything about the man sang of a proper gentleman,someone you could trust,someone _safe_ …that alone set Jason even more on edge.His observation done,he finally spoke up.

“Lovely as this charade of you killing little girls and sending your goons after me has been, I’d like you to stop now,”To make sure his point was understood,Jason put his gun right on the man’s masked temple, biting back a sigh when the other leaned into it- _just great,of course Black Mask would be the kind to find death enticing_.

“I’m in the process of expanding my empire”

“However, the new territory is… _resistant_ ,”

“And that’s where you come in. I need a general, someone to not only enforce my command, but to help me keep everything running,”

At first, Jason just stood there,waiting for the punchline, but when a full minute passed and the Black Mask was still looking at him expectantly, he realized that the man was being serious.

“At first I just thought you were crazy, now I have to add stupid to the list,”

“I don’t work for things like you- _I kill them_ ,”Black Mask didn’t even have time to blink before Red Hood pulled the trigger, he slumped forward a few seconds later, blood and brain matter coating the once pristine desk.

Heaving a sigh,Jason made to leave, but he stopped when he heard a dull click,followed by the floor opening up and swallowing the dead crime boss(desk and all).Only for another identical desk to slide up in its place,with another very much alive Black Mask behind it, spinning a gun in front of him, his other hand holding a nasty looking dagger.

“Well, I’m sad to hear that, I’d hoped this meeting would end differently,”The gun did one final slow spin,and came to rest with the business-end facing Jason.

_Oh_ -Jason might have underestimated the situation.

He raised his own gun, but before he could even pull the trigger, Black Mask had already taken aim, and Jason’s arm caught fire.

_Ammo that could go right through his normally bulletproof jacket_ -Okay, Jason had more than underestimated-he’d messed up, Khalil(with his ever worrying self) had been right.

Throwing himself on the ground he dodged the next round of fire.The elevator doors opened and he had just enough time to see the endless minions spill out before he threw out smoke bombs, and gripped his gun with his good hand, blocking the pain coming from the bleeding one.

It was time to see if he still had it.

***

Khalil was uncomfortable with Jason going out to face Black Mask without backup.

_“Relax, if anything goes wrong I’ll call immediately,”_ Given how crazy and ruthless(a combination Khalil knew never ended well) Black Mask’s record said he was,he would’ve thought the other would be more careful, but there’d been no convincing him otherwise.

_“Right now, he wants something from me, and so long as he doesn’t get it.That should buy me some time,”_

Instead of loitering around in the safehouse, he’d made his way to the library soon after the other had left.Gotham’s uniquely chemical smell, as well as the city’s cold and damp forcing him to wear, a black surgical mask,gloves,a thick pair of pants and a hoodie-making him stand out amongst the gothamites who were treating the weather as though it were the height of summer.

After a few hours of reading up on  black mamba venom, he checked his phone and seeing no messages from Jason decided to do something else.

Unlocking his wheels he moved to a more secluded section that not only hid him from the entrance, but also made sure he was facing the shelves on the floor above(no chance of anyone getting an inkling of what he was working on-in a world with metas one could never be too careful).And with that done, he pulled out his new laptop and began coding, unaware that he had an almost smile on his face as he modified his viruses.

***

Work as always- _was_ _boring_ , Barb looked around pretending not to notice the teens making out in the corner.Her phone buzzed and she absentmindedly picked it up, and  tapped at the screen, only to freeze when she read the alert.

“ _Gotcha!”_ Ever since the attack, she’d been trying to track the hacker to no avail.She’d ended up setting traps so that if the hacker was ever in range-her systems would pick up on their activity.Holding her breath she locked in on the signal,watching as the map of Gotham got smaller and smaller until the bulls-eye settled over a location- _the_ _library_ -right where she was.

Her screen began freezing then, static flying all over the screen(an obvious counterattack) and she let out a curse, looking around desperately.Movement on the tables below caught her attention and she watched as a hooded figure hurriedly stuffed his laptop into a bag, his body language practically screamed fear-there was no way it wasn’t him.

She pulled out her second phone, ready to call for back up before the culprit started running- _then_ _she stopped_.

Instead of getting up and making a run for it like she’d expected, _he rolled out,_ and for the first time Barb realized he was in a chair.

_A fellow wheeler!_

The phone went back into her pocket and she was pushing off before she even made a conscious decision.

***

It had taken Khalil mere seconds to realize he was being tracked, and even less time to recognize the code…

_Oracle._

He was almost at the exit when the elevator doors dinged, and given the quietness of the library,the sound drew his attention.A woman with bright red hair wheeled herself out, looking right at him with unnerving focus.

For a long moment where the two of them just stood there and watched, instinctively recognizing each other,and the threat the other posed.Then the doors dinged and reality came back into focus with a vengeance as the lady moved, coming right at him and Khalil took off.

***

“Ouch!Why not just rip off the whole arm while you’re at it?!”

“ _Really?!_ My arms are about to fall off,my back is on fire,and instead of resting I’m stitching you up.A _thank you_ would be nice,”Khalil used more force than necessary to jab the needle into Jason’s flesh,closing up his bullet hole, and the other let out a pained hiss.

“It’s not my fault you ran into Oracle...she would have caught up with you anyway,”

“Well,it’s not my fault you went after Black Mask on your own either-I told you he’s dangerous,”He finished the last stitch,and went about the other injuries, massaging salve into the skin-making sure bruises wouldn’t have a chance to form, pausing every once in a while to breathe through his own pain.He hadn’t realized how out of shape he was, until he’d been out of breath after only a few blocks,only to look back and see Oracle grabbing onto rails and going down stairs herself just to get to him.

“Has Oracle always been so tenacious?”Jason let out a pained huff that might have been a laugh,visibly relaxing at the change of topic.

“You have no idea,how did you outrun her anyway?”

“I didn’t,she almost had me.Then I saw a group of old church ladies-I told them she was new to disability,and having a crisis of faith,”

“A few well placed compliments later,I was off ,and she was coming around the corner, they were on her immediately, showing her the ‘ _power of prayer’_ , and laying their ‘ _healing_ _hands’_ on her.She gave me the middle finger when they started singing-that fuelled them on more,”

“Are you… _serious_?”

Khalil shrugged-regretting the action when his shoulders pulled“It was either that, or head into moving traffic and hope for the best,”The chase had been a wakeup call, he hadn’t expected her to be in a chair too,but unlike him, she was obviously still exercising-he needed to get back to that, _asap_.

Jason let out a bark of laughter,followed by another,then another until he was just a pile of giggles,uncaring that he might rip his stitches, and that flecks of blood followed each exhale.

“Dude…she is _so_ sending Demon-Spawn after you,”

“The crazy Robin who looks like he should be in kindergarten?”That to set off another laughing fit in Jason.

“…if he ever hears you calling him that…”

***

The moment Khalil was done patching him up,Jason decided to nip the brewing problem before it could grow roots“I’ll put these away and help you into your shower chair”As expected Khalil instantly tensed.

“No need, I can do it _myself_ ,”His hands even though he’d been helping Jason were clearly swollen.There was no way he’d be able to carry his entire body weight on them.

“Yeah, and I could have dug out my own bullet, and wrapped my own sprained leg, and dealt with my bruises, but it was easier having your help,”Khalil’s fingers drummed his wheels, and Jason could clearly see his inner struggle written all over his face.

“How ‘bout I help you into the shower, come out and prepare our meals, then when you’re done,I’ll come help you out?You can use your transfer board to get into bed,”It took a few more moments, but eventually Khalil nodded.

An hour later,Jason lay on his bed, eating one of the meals Khalil had pre-prepared, the other was in his own cot, enjoying some yogurt(one of the few foods he could actually keep down).

They were in trouble, Jason had seen the greedy gleam in Black Mask’s eyes right before he’d made an opening for himself by blasting a door into the sewers…he’d be back.And now, the Bats had a bit of information on Khalil.All these things spelled chaos in the near future, but it wouldn’t help anyone to worry about them at that moment, they could afford to take a few hours to themselves.

“So, are you a Jessica Rabbit kind of guy, or does Lola Bunny do it for you?”The quip earned him a spoon to the head and a disgusted snort from Khalil,who then made a show of putting on headphones and ignoring him.

With his king of jerks title once again unchallenged,Jason turned to his phone,going back to the book he was reading.If anyone asked,it was a book on various stratagems employed in war, but really it was romance novel with characters so ridiculous, he just had to read it, if only to make fun of them. 

***

When Barb finally arrived at the emergency meeting she’d called, all of them were instantly on edge.At first glance she didn’t look any different from usual, but there was a look in her eyes that Dick hadn’t seen since the days she used to wear during her Batgirl days.

This was Barb on a hunt.

“I found the hacker,”Her mouth split into a feral grin.

“What?!”

“When!”

“Give us the information, we’ll begin tracking them before they know we’re onto them,”

“ _He_ , the hacker is male,”She moved towards the main screen.

“And as for him not knowing that we know, that’s too late-I gave chase when I saw him,”

Alfred was the first to recover from the revelation“Young Miss, that was uncharacteristically careless of you.Are you hurt anywhere?”The old man moved forward,mother hen mode in place, but Barb brushed off his concern with a carefree laugh.

“If I were you, I’d be more worried about the other guy,”She pulled up footage from the library and all of them watched as a guy-face obscured by a hoodie and a mask,made his way down the library  ramp, a few seconds later,Barb came into view, focused solely on the guy as she gained on him.

More clips followed, some showing the guy clearly thinking he’d lost her and pausing to try and massage his shoulders, only to look back and tense before taking off again.

“I lost him at the church, and he managed to avoid all other cameras after that,”None of them thought to ask exactly how she’d lost him, and they were too focused on the footage to notice her embarrassed blush,something she was eternally grateful for.

“Do you know him?”It was Damian who asked- _of_ _course_.

“Why would I know him?”Damian looked pointedly at her wheelchair, and Barb sighed giving  Dick a look which he correctly interpreted, and gave the kid a slap on the back of his head for her, since she was too far to do it herself.

Bruce casually caught the batarang Damian threw in retaliation, and tied him up while the rest of them continued talking, and looking at the various pictures they now had, to see if they could spot any identifying features.

It was only a matter of time now.


End file.
